


the trivialities of morality and the differing shades of grey

by blueeeee



Category: Batman - All Media Types, Super Sons (Comics)
Genre: (Again kinda), (it would seem that i cannot write a fic where he's a good one which is a damn shame), (kinda), (so like i dont really like it when hes a bad dad but for the purpose of this fic just go with it), Angst, BAMF Damian Wayne, BAMF Jon Kent, Bruce Wayne is a Bad Parent, Character Study, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Morality, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, People are going to die, Philosophy, WIP, bc im not done, dami and jon lane are such a power couple, dark!damian, i have a vague outline of where i want this to go but thats it, im salty about how the writers are treating damian and it shows, look ik that salt is more miraculous fandom but like thats what this is tbh, my views on morality definitely come into play here, thats all im gonna say on that matter, this probably wont have a super happy ending but idk man, villain AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-10
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-07 23:07:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 1,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26935606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/blueeeee/pseuds/blueeeee
Summary: (so the little prince picked up his broken crown of gilded bones, and decided that if everyone thought he was evil, if no one was going to do the right thing, the thing thatneedsto happen, then he would do it himself.so the little prince picked up his crown of bones, and went to work.)
Relationships: Jonathan Kent/Damian Wayne
Comments: 7
Kudos: 59





	1. prologue

_**“damian, this isn’t you!”** _

_**“you’re right.** _

_**"it wasn’t.**_ _**but it is now, and i think you know whose fault it is.”** _

-

would you like to know a thing about the bats? they believe that the world is black and white. good and bad. there’s no middle ground, two wrongs don’t equal a right, and that’s that.

but, that’s just not true, is it?

for example, take this:

there was once a little boy who lived as a prince. a prince of murder and death with a crown of gilded bones and hands drenched in blood.

this little prince was a jailer’s son, and he left behind his crown of bones to live for a chance at happiness. ~~(and he had it, for a bit.)~~

this little prince left behind a life of torture and whip cracks and murder and abuse and everything he’s ever known for a chance to get out. out of the desert and his life of pain.

it was an adjustment, but he got better. he was good.

there was once a jailer who lived with his sons. he wasn’t the best father, but he tried, and that was a lot better than most of them had had before.

once, the jailer had a villain take over his city. he took the jailer’s grandfather hostage and prepared to let the city burn.

the jailer told his youngest son, the little prince with his abandoned crown of bones, to save the grandfather. sneak into his city and trade hostages while the jailer went on a date.

the villain did not trade hostages, and killed the boy’s last parental figure right in front of him.

~~_(this was just another crack in the little prince's soul._ ~~

~~_the first was the death of his brother, his other parental figure._ ~~

~~_the third was the loss of his best friend, his first love. not to death, no. he just left for the future and didn’t look back._ ~~

~~_not being able to avenge his brother’s death finally broke him.)_ ~~

so he left, once again. a prince with no crown to speak of nor kingdom to call his own.

when he finally found his grandfather’s killer, he was stopped. again. ~~(can you break something that already broke?)~~

-

**_“damian, stop. don’t do this.”_ **

-

_tell me, jailer. tell me all the lies you told your little prince._

_tell me how you told him you loved him, that he was a good son._

_tell me jailer, tell me how you told him you failed, and did nothing to fix it._

_tell me how you vowed never to kill._

-

**_“you would really let this scum go? let him keep breaking out of jail and killing more people? -tt- i never should have taken mother’s off-”_ **

-

_tell me, jailer. tell me how your son got that scar on his neck._

_tell me, jailer. give me your convoluted excuses about how it was an accident. about how you were aiming for his hand._

~~_(didn't you tell us never to throw unless we were sure it would hit the right mark?)_ ~~

_tell me, jailer. tell me how you saw that your son was insane._

_tell me, jailer. why didn’t he get the second chances?_

_t_ _ell me, jailer. was he your son, or was he a soldier?_

**tell me.**

-

but to the matter of morality: they say that if you kill a killer, then the number of killers stays the same.

but what happens if you kill two? or three? or four?

you are always the bad guy in someone else’s book. it's inevitable.

so you see, there isn't a set right and wrong.

its all just greyscale.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ~~(in a perfect world, maybe that would be the case. maybe there is just right and wrong, and we don’t have to worry about the intricacies of doing a wrong to make a good. but this isn’t a perfect world, and i don’t think it will be. so for now, rest in the knowledge that corruption feeds our societies, and only by playing a cheater’s game will we fix it)~~

if there was one thing that the prince had learned, it was that you don’t win a cheater’s game by playing by the rules. he had forgotten that, living with the jailer, and now he had started to remember.

  
  


to play the cheater’s game, you need to get dirty. play down with the pigs in the mud and let everyone underestimate you. it was so second nature to the prince, to damian, that he almost didn't realize he was doing it.

he was glad that he did. it made taking over his kingdom much easier.

talia and ra’s were gone, bits of their bodies strewn across the world. 

their heads he sent to the jailer, to batman.

and now, the long game.

  
  


you see, to win a cheater’s game, you need to be patient. and while he may not seem like it, a ruler knows when to wait, and when to strike.

he is a prince, after all, and his crown is made of bones for a reason.

  
  
  
  
  


~~\----------~~

  
  
  
  


a portal opened up, and a figure much like his friend’s, his first love’s, popped out.

  
  


**_“j-jonathon? how-”_ **

**_“DAMIAN!”_ **

  
  


this jonathon, this refugee from a burning world, had lost everything. much like our little prince had.

damian knew that he shouldn't let the young super get close, that he would only leave him just as the others had, especially because he had picked up his crown of bones, but this was jonathon. his friend. his crush. one of the only people in this world who might understand where he’s coming from.

  
  


**_“jonathon, i- -tt- i’m not a good person, i’ve started killing again, i’m ruling the league and maybe you should just leave now before i push you away like the rest of them.”_ **

**_“i already lost you once, dames. i’m not going to lose you again._ **

**_“and hey, i’ve kinda been pushed off the deep end too.”_ **

**_“you-”_ **

**_“yes.”_ **

  
  
  
  


\----------

  
  
  
  


on his throne of gold and blood with a crown of ra’s’s bones and his consort by his side, damian turned twenty years old.

and with it, the beginnings of a flame that would destroy the corrupt world.

-

**_“are you sure you want to do this habibi?”_ **

**_“darlin’, i would raze the world to ashes for you.”_ **

-

the plan went like this:

-kill the corrupt in charge, and put their little black books on display. 

it may not be court admissible evidence, but it’s out there, and they are dead, so does it matter? ~~(dead men tell no tales after all, so no one is there to defend their sorry asses.)~~

-watch the corporate and political world burn, and laugh over gentle kisses and glasses of wine.

-and then they were to wait, to trust that the people would stop electing officials that will end up their downfall, and to kill the ones that will, until the people learn their lessons.

-kill the major villains slowly but surely, and publicly. ~~(what’s the point of dramatics if no one is there to appreciate them?)~~

-leave little nonsensical clues, just to drive the bat insane.

-heroes will be forced to focus on petty crime, and that will be better for everyone.

-let this all take over the course of a year or two, don’t want too much too soon after all.

  
  
  


\----

  
  
  


to the jailer’s credit, it took about a year and a half before he realized it was damian behind the curtain of this new, better world.

he wasted no time mobilizing his forces.

the prince, of course, had expected this, and was no less than completely in control of this confrontation.

the one thing he didn't expect, however, was the arrival of one jonathon samuel kent. the future’s superboy. 

_~~(the one who left our dear prince in the dust and the mud the second he saw a way out.)~~ _

no matter. damian had a better one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> these paragraphs are short as hell but im a poet first and foremost so we just vibe ig


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ~~(what if icarus’s story was different. what if daedalus had stayed in the tower, and to leave icarus had to build his own wings.~~
> 
> ~~what if instead of laughing at apollo as he stole his lover for the waves, poseidon saved icarus from a fate of ash and dust.~~
> 
> ~~a fate he would have thrown himself at willingly, for even just a breath of freedom)~~

the first person that entered the little prince’s kingdom was jonathon samuel kent. 

-

it was weird, seeing him again. he still had that stupid outfit, the one with the black legs and the hip pads. still older than damian, still taller.

-

if things had gone differently, maybe damian would have been happy to see him. 

they would banter again, they would go on missions. 

they would still be friends.

  
  


but things hardly ever turn out for the better around here, and so here we are.  ~~ (here in the desert with the bloody sand and a different, better, jon by his side, damian almost laughed. it would have been a poor, broken thing. it would have sounded like crushed rose petals on a loved one's grave.) ~~

**\---**

**_“so what, did damian clone me?”_ **

**_“no.”_ **

**_“who are you then?”_ **

**_“better than you.”_ **

  
  


**_“so he replaced me._ **

**_“probably went gallivanting through the multiverse to find a replacement to be his murder buddy._ **

**_“where is he.”_ **

**\---**

the prince and his consort had planned extensively for this, as soon as they had heard that his alternate self was returning. 

damian, of course, could take him alone, but, well, the bats always were a dramatic bunch, and could you really fault him for wanting jon samuel to die in misery?  ( ~~kryptonian blood would drench his lover’s hands, and jon lane couldn’t wait to see it.)~~

~~ (and, well, you couldn’t exactly fault him for enjoying it, either.) ~~

**\---**

**_“sorry, the prince is unavailable at the moment.”_ **

**_“who do you think you are to say if damian is available or not.”_ **

jon lane smirked. it was a dangerous little thing. a dangerous little smirk promising retribution and promising pain. 

~~ (the kind of smile a predator had right before killing its prey.) ~~

**_“his boyfriend.”_ **

**_“what? damian’s- whatever._ **

**_“one bad day and suddenly he’s a murder now?”_ **

~~ (and if jon lane started circling the future’s superboy, his prey, the one that broke his lover’s heart, well, i wouldn't be the one to tell you.) ~~

**_“one bad day? had you been at all present that year or so you would understand, that no. it wasn't just ‘one bad day.’_ **

**_“dick lost his memory, alfred died, and where were you? his best friend, his only friend. in the future, kissing some random ass girl while your best friend tries not to kill himself.”_ **

**_“HE TOLD ME TO GO!”_ **

**_“that means shit jonathon. you knew him. or, at least, he thought you did._ ** ~~**_(he thought the world of you)_ ** ~~

**_“you left him, your family, your friends, everything you've ever known, willingly, excitedly, the minute it got better for you. not a care in the world for all the pain you left behind._ **

**_“that's selfish, jonathon. it's not what the s-shield stands for, and you know it._ **

**_“he gave you everything, you know. every single fiber of his being was yours. not even dick and alfred had that._ **

**_“you had his loyalty, his love, his friendship._ **

**_“that isn't to say that dick and alfred never had those things, never hurt him, but you?_ ** **ha** **_. he would have_ ** _ destroyed _ **_himself for you._ **

**_“and in the end? he did. you, dear alternate self, were what_ ** _ broke _ **_him. the poor, cracked little prince who would have given you his soul.”_ **

the prince appeared then, and jon samuel kent was too locked in his own head to even register the fact that he was dying.

-

~~ (a sadistic smile graced the consort’s face. no one messed with his lover and got away with it.) ~~

  
  


~~ (one down, five to go.) ~~

-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is bad lol i cannot write confrontation. thats why all of the action is vague as hell. the terrible writing would ruin it.
> 
> also dont yell at me ik in the first chapter i said not being able to avenge dick was what broke him, but if jon was exaggerating just a tiny bit, whos gonna know?? ~~(just a tiny bit tho. everything else was true.) (and tbh not being able to avenge dick was like a lil breeze blowing a half falling person off a cliff) (also i headcanon dami as being absurdly loyal. like thats his fatal flaw. hes too loyal)~~


End file.
